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For families

When my two music-mad children, Emily, 16, and Max, 14, asked if we could go to Glastonbury last summer, I didn’t even think before saying no.

I love music, but I didn’t fancy the idea of trying to erect a tent in a potential mudbath for four (expensive) nights of disturbed sleep, with only wet wipes to clean myself.

But it set me thinking that perhaps we could combine our annual holiday with a festival in a reliably dry and more comfortable setting. And so our trip to FIB, on the east coast of Spain, was born.

We arrived a few days before festivities began, giving us time to unwind. No sticky nights under canvas for us; instead we opted to stay in a well-equipped, quiet and, more importantly, comfortable apartment (Mediterranean Blau Apartments; casamundo.co.uk) in Oropesa Del Mar, a short taxi ride from Benicàssim.

We knew that staying out of town was the right decision as we watched hordes of young people making their way from Benicàssim beach on the first night.

Once we were through the gates, FIB was everything we hoped it would be. The children were able to go off and do their own thing rather than suffer the indignity of watching me and their father singing along to the Killers. But the highlight had to be watching Johnny Marr, the former Smiths guitarist, and seeing my children, Marr’s next generation of fans, dancing at his feet.

The balmy evening heat, mountain backdrop and mixture of nationalities made for a cosmopolitan vibe that felt incredibly friendly and safe. FIB, combined with lazy days on the beach and excursions to Valencia and Barcelona, proved to be a perfect family holiday.

This feast of world music and exotic food has a bohemian atmosphere that seems to have drifted over from the chai tents and healing fields of Glastonbury. Children can join in lots of artistic activities. Adults, meanwhile, are guaranteed to discover music that they will never have heard before – Mongolian throat singing, for example.

Bestival’s little sibling always promises one of the best musical line-ups at a family festival and draws some big names in comedy, too. This year has Public Service Broadcasting, De La Soul and Basement Jaxx on stage, while there’s a dedicated garden for mothers and babies, a big top and bouncy castle for children, plus a new teenage area. And there’s Lulworth Castle to visit should you want to get off site.

Just So caters for a younger audience Just So, August 15-17 Rode Hall Parkland, Scholar Green, Cheshirejustsofestival.org.uk

Magic and fun are the speciality of this little festival, which is fast making new friends. And what child wouldn’t get excited at the thought of dressing up as Max in the Wild Rumpus, training to be a pirate or preparing for an almighty pillow fight? Screenings of Bugsy Malone and Grease are planned for the evenings.

In the countryside

Arriving at a music festival can be stressful as you drag your kit around looking for somewhere to pitch your tent. But when the first sights that greet you include a man in a polar bear onesie on a unicycle, another running around dressed as an escaped asylum inmate, and a techno-playing police riot van, it’s difficult to get too worked up.

Now in its sixth year, BoomTown describes itself as Britain’s “maddest city”, and it more than lives up to the billing.

The entire concept is bonkers and the term “city” no exaggeration. Like some dystopian settlement, the sprawling site is divided into “districts”, each with its own theme and appropriate venues. Barrio Loco, for example, serves up Latin music and burritos; Chinatown is all paper lanterns and incense; Mayfair Avenue is home to a stock exchange and a swing ballroom.

Pop-up venues materialise without warning, day and night. What appeared to be a telephone booth was actually the entrance to a tiny underground “casino”, complete with roulette wheels and a jazz band.

Music is pop-free and eclectic. The Lion’s Den, an outdoor arena in Trenchtown, showcases reggae and ska, and Jimmy Cliff will be there to roll back the years this summer. Fans of electronic dance head to Downtown, where Arcadia, a fire-breathing, laser-spitting monster of a stage, takes pride of place. Elsewhere you’ll find Balkan beats, country and hip-hop. Bands often seem to be chosen more for their onstage exuberance than record sales.

It’s not for everyone – there are no big-name bands, highlights will not be televised and Kate Moss will definitely not be attending. But if you want to spend a weekend being ceaselessly entertained – and to spot people dressed like escapees from a lunatic asylum – check yourself in.

The setting, outside a pastel-coloured hill town in the thickly-forested Umbrian countryside, is about as refined as you could get for a rock festival.

For the first time this summer, the walled town of Massa Martana, a 40-minute drive from Perugia, will welcome a raft of mostly British bands to a part of Italy more famous for villa holidays and wine-tasting tours. Old favourites including The Charlatans, The Cribs and Paul Weller will appear, along with Basement Jaxx and fresher acts such as Apache Me and Elara Caluna - both from Glasgow.

Films will be shown on two screens at night, with gothic horrors playing from 2am until dawn. Festival-goers can either camp or sample the rustic b&bs and boutique accommodation options in the surrounding valleys. Oh, and forget burger vans, the food will be buonissimo!

This poetically-named newcomer has a beautiful location and promises unusual outdoor activities, from zip-lining, to dips in thermal springs and a grassy death slide. The food will be locally sourced, the music a blend of disco, electronica and funk, and if the showers don’t suit, there are waterfalls nearby.

With a reed-edged lake that dazzles with visual art at night and an enviable comedy and literary programme, Latitude continues to shine. The open-air restaurant and cocktail bar were a big hit last year, as was the musical line-up. Damon Albarn, Tame Impala and Bombay Bicycle Club head to the park this time round.

If getting crafty in lush countryside appeals more to you than watching bands, pack a vintage bathing costume and home-made bunting in your knapsack and head to this beautiful, wooded site in Oxfordshire. Creativity abounds and, best of all, there’s a lake for wild swimming.

In former pleasure gardens in a lovely Dorset location, this small jamboree attracts loyal fans who appreciate good ales, comedy and live music in a laid-back, non-commercial atmosphere. This year’s musical mixture looks particularly tempting, with everything from The Flaming Lips to John Grant, Drenge and Tune-Yards.

The library in the woods at End of the Road

By the sea

An opening performance from Caribou and Kwabs in Pula’s 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre promises to be nothing if not atmospheric. Warpaint, Jon Hopkins and Roy Ayers are also on the bill, with beach sessions and boat parties during the day.

A new addition to Croatia’s thriving festival scene, Unknown is set in the pretty coastal city of Rovinj, in Istria, a region of tiny hilltop towns that feels a lot like Tuscany. Nile Rodgers, London Grammar, Chvrches and Seth Troxler will all appear.

In the city

From the disco tram that circumnavigates the city to a riverboat on the Danube and a traditional Viennese café, Waves throws up new music in surprising places. In the tram carriage last year, there was some initial confusion when a couple of elderly locals, dazzled by the glitter balls, took a moment to realise that the calls came not from a conductor but from a shaven-headed MC.

But this unique venue was one of many that revealed Vienna – best known for its waltzes and smoke-aged coffee houses – as a city that also has much to offer in terms of after-hours fun.

A mainly European crowd saw Lovefoxxx from the Brazilian band CSS spread a pair of golden wings on stage and danced to Skream in a club that was once a sauna.

During the day, there’s the chance to ride the old Ferris wheel at the Prater fairground, dip into the city’s treasure trove of art or sit down to a plate of sausages at the Naschmarkt.

This year, Waves’ sister event in Bratislava has been lengthened to a whole weekend. A festival wristband grants access to both and buses link the two cities, which are only about 20 miles apart.

Brighton’s Dome will stage headlining concerts from Wild Beasts and Kelis, but the best way to approach this eclectic and inspired showcase of new music is by hopping between smaller venues along the seafront and elsewhere. Arrive early to catch sets from the bands creating the biggest buzz.

Fast becoming Europe’s Coachella in terms of unmissable acts and cool-kid credibility, Primavera offers a winning combination of sunshine, city digs and late-night revelling. Held in a massive concrete space next to the beach, its only failing, really, is that it can feel quite bleak at 4am, when tiredness finally kicks in and a coastal wind is whipping around your shoulders. A similar line-up plays in Porto, Portugal, the following weekend.

In a revitalised industrial part of Lyon, at the convergence of its two rivers, giant warehouses provide a stage for electronic acts from a sharp programme that focuses on innovation. This year, that includes Gold Panda, Trentmøller and a special final day’s show from Kraftwerk, who will shoot 3D images of the Earth, spaceships and the Autobahn over the audience’s heads, as they did at Latitude last summer. The festival fringe has smaller acts playing at bars around the city.

Ensconced on an island in the middle of the Danube, you could forget you’re a short ferry ride from the centre of Budapest. Perhaps it’s down to being cut off by the river, but, unusually for a city festival, Sziget feels like its own crazy, self-contained world, with plenty going on late into the night. This year the organisers have called up Queens of the Stone Age, the Prodigy, Placebo and Calvin Harris.